Fire
by Spinozist
Summary: It is twenty years since Voyager made it back to federation space. The crew have gone their separate ways and Annika Hansen has been able to make a life for herself. Called to a remote system to meet an isolated tactical master, she must try to convince him that becoming the monsters he hunts is not his only option.
1. Chapter 1

**Fire**

'Target System will be reached in ten minutes, prepare for intra-system flight.'

Annika Hansen places the book she has been reading onto the large wooden writing desk she had been given by the Jovian University. She still wants for a place to attach herself when not engaged.

Pushing the chair back she stands and the old parts of her mammal brain just catch through the corner of one eye the reflection of her movement. She glances to her left at the window. She is framed, and for a pulse of synapse she can smell the warmth of a Cube.

She moves towards the door and passes through the corridor leading to the bridge of the _USS Raven_. The lighting is low. She prefers it this way.

'Computer, display course from the point of atmospheric entry onto the second planet. Highlight major population centres and transportation corridors.'

'Showing course plot. Would you like to switch to manual control for the descent?'

'Auto-pilot will suffice.'

Annika waits. She has done her research. She knows what she is going to be asked to do, she knows her answer. The Raven's engines change pitch.


	2. Chapter 2

'That's quite an interesting looking ship you have there, Annika'. Admiral Aden Tackett had made his way to the landing pad using the as little aid as possible. He had walked the three clicks from the ocean port to the space hub.

'It's modelled to look like my parents old ship. Its largely bespoke design has allowed a few additions and modifications that give a degree of tactical and propulsive force that get me by when the need allows'.

'Borg understatement?'

'Simple fact. As you can see, I am no longer anymore Borg than you are.'

'I suppose you're right. Well, we can hail an auto to take us to my home, or we can…

'I'd prefer to walk. Three weeks inside of a small starship is quite enough.'

'Very well, then.'

Annika and Aden avoid the main through fairs and the auto docks, and make their way down the kilometre high tree of landing pads, dock gantries and cargo transporter pads. They exit at the base of the one-hundred-meter wide trunk and in the damp, afternoon air they start to talk small. Overhead, a cargo vessel almost as big as the space hub itself, covered in pink and blue icons, hangs in the air. Only the lower half of its hull is visible as it seems to float in the stratus. Clear lanes of auto and light transport traffic can be seen moving from one pad to another and some, reaching out toward the blue-grey horizon, are heading to the islands, habitats and ships of the oceans beyond. The odd sonic boom comes and goes and Annika matches her step to the Admirals.

'This is one of eight spaceports we currently have on this planet. The one the _Raven_ rests on is the smallest with the biggest being roughly twice the height and containing nineteen separate 'trees'. We copied the idea from the ruins we found here, one hundred and fifty-three of them in total. The archaeologists say this system was a major transport intersection roughly about the time Homo-Sapien was taking its first steps from Africa to Asia-minor. We've reconstructed one of them, from a shell that the flora never quite pulled apart.

'What happened to the race that constructed them?'

'Oh, like most, some of them moved on, some of them forgot how to make things, and some just simply gave up. All things must end at some point, Ann. Can I call you Ann? '

'You may.'

'Course, the interesting thing about them was they were humanoid. Not just any humanoid, either. Seems they share pretty much an identical genetic profile to the Ferengui. Amazing, eh? Anyway, we've spoken to them about it, but they don't seem hugely interested. We did, however, receive a summoning to the Ferengui high court to settle alleged patent infringement for the building of the space ports.'

The Ferengui are nothing if not shrewd'

'I've gotta say, that's not quite the way I put it'

The pair walk on. The walkway they follow stems from the base of the spaceport and its surrounding roots of bays and storage buildings, formed again to mimic the local flora, out towards where the buildings become more homely, less business. Annika notes that the architecture becomes taller by stages as they exit the shadow and traffic. A small collection of glass towers huddle together on the coastline. The path joins a main concourse through the shine, and out to the other side where the land falls into the ocean and a bay shelters what look to be pleasure craft. At least two of the craft would appear to be space worthy with scorch marks and phaser arrays just underneath the waterline. Something larger, possibly constructed, can be seen darkening the waters further out. Sometimes Annika misses her ocular implants.

'So, I understand you live on a watercraft?' Annika has learnt that most people don't like long silences.

'Well, It's a little more than that, but it is ocean going and it docks where the conditions allow, so I guess you could call it a boat of sorts. It's largely autonomous, and, as part of a fleet, it can cooperate with others where each craft becomes a specialised section of a whole, perhaps not unlike a Borg collective?'

Annika says nothing. The admiral points towards a small green catamaran, the two hulls joined by an ovoid, the top of which is transparent.

'There she is. That's my boat, _The All Summer Long_; she'll take us to my home, the island-ship _David_. It'll take us about half a day. I suggest you rest up.'


	3. Chapter 3

**'Engine room, this is the bridge we have a ship bearing 315, mark 616. Prepare for a full power down, we don't want to unnerve anybody with unnecesary power spikes. Ensign, slow to a holding position.'**

You must run.

_Species 7992 vessel identified. Tactical appraisal underway. Low yield fusion torpedo's, all bays empty, Six laser canons, all powered down, minimal shielding, crew compliment 62, concentration of alloys in section 3b of storage consistent with Laser rifles and personal projectile pistols. Likeliness of successful engagement 99.9999967%. Gravimetric flux of second moon suggests large compliment of more heavily armoured vessels hidden from main sensor view. Bringing main drone compliment online. Receiving transmission on BW. 1294589__**.**_** I am Captain** **K'st'er Onr rg. This is my crew. We are here to welcome you to our**

**WE ARE THE BORG. LOWER YOUR SHIELDS AND SURRENDER YOUR SHIPS. WE WILL ADD YOUR BIOLOGICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DISTINCTIVENESS TO OUR OWN. YOUR CULTURE WILL ADAPT TO SERVICE US. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.**

**_Opening fire on target vessel. Target vessel shields down. _**Proceed to section f7n6._ Readying boarding party. _Adjust for matter transport._ Transporting drone groups to assimilated ship to intercept main fleet_**_. Move between enemy fleet and -wave neutralised._**_Geo-stationary orbit drones to home-world first wave assimilated ships online, transferring sub-tactical responsibility to lead ship_. Move to grid-square 8563/632. Adapt shield harmonics.__**_Assimilating satellite network, establishing comms. _**_Assimilated vessels moving into close orbits. 3 of 6 and 5 of 14 entering atmosphere at grid-squares 8183/514 and 3865/009. All enemy ships neutralised. Principle comms centres for enemy forces identified. Moving weaponised satellites into parking orbits above comms centres. Moving Drone groups 8,12, 16, 19 through to principle city, grid reference 6904/400. _Targets sighted, unarmed. Course blocked by duranium alloy. Signalling drones 3 of 4 and 6 of 10. Standing by.**_Commencing bombardment of enemy tactical centre 021._**Damage sustained by close range projectile. Assimilating individual 4463876 of species 7992, signal marker attached. 3 of 4 has removed obstacle, moving on. 4 targets sited.**_Fusion torpedo's released from ocean grid-square 6438/010. _**_ Moving vessels 4 of 6, 2 of 6, and 1 through 4 of 14 to intercept torpedoes. _Moving through to grid-square 8562/632. Individual 4464222, 4464896, 4465033 all assimilated. Individual 44645012 disregarded due to decrepity.**_Torpedo's neutralised_**_. _Loss of ocular implant. Reporting to Janeway. **_Janeway?_** **_Janeway?_** Janeway?_Standing down lead cube navigational opps. _Grounded vessel identified 30 metres inside grid-square 8561/632. **_It is the Raven_**. **_It is the Raven._** **_It is the Raven_**. Vessel design is consistent with UFP. **_UFP._** UFP. tech level 4. Request invasive sensor scan. 8 individuals identified inside. Request short-range transport. Standing by.

_…_

_…_

It's so quiet. It's so quiet. I have to get back. Commencing comms sweep. Wait. No comms. I am empty. Harry!_ Can you see the field Seven? Can you see where we are going?_Where are we?_Come to the edge. See?_Look, it's Jupiter, see the storms?_Aden is coming. Who? You didn't know_? No, he cannot come here._ You must help me eat._I will not! No! You will be assimilated!_ I can use my Borg arm_. Kim, no. It's not fair to use. He's not ready. We're not ready. It's not…

**FUTILE**

Annika wakes in her bunk. She is breathing hard, the sheets are damp.


End file.
